How’s it going, Shelby County? It’s Wednesday, Feb. 26, and Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two people and wounded another at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, is back for a talk at the University of Memphis. Last time Rittenhouse was here, he was run off campus by protesters. Guess we’ll see how this goes.

In less divisive U of M news, the Tigers men’s basketball team plays Rice tonight at home. If you’re a fan of the Tigers’ Dain Dainja, you might want to go see him play while you still can.

THE NEED TO KNOW

At a press conference in February 2024, Lisa Shahan Choat, talked about how she went months without being able to contact her son, Ramon McGhee, inside Shelby County Jail. (Ben Wheeler/The Daily Memphian file)

Mom files suit over son’s jail death: The mother of inmate Ramon McGhee, who died at the Shelby County Jail last year, has filed a federal lawsuit against Shelby County, the jail’s medical team and Wellpath LLC (the third-party company that provides medical care to inmates) over his death. Lisa Shahan Choat’s suit alleges her son died due to severe neglect and improper care by jail staff. McGhee, 42, died on Jan. 12, 2024, two days after being found in his cell at 201 Poplar unresponsive and covered in bedbugs. The suit also alleges “gross understaffing” and overcrowding at the jail, something Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. has acknowledged to be a problem. 

Landscape architect Ritchie Smith brought a map of the Chelsea Greenline plans from 2017 to the public meeting Tuesday at the Hollywood Community Center. “Nothing’s really changed,” he said. (Bill Dries/The Daily Memphian)

Chelsea Greenline’s twists and turns: A 2.5-mile rails-to-trails greenline will run behind the flood wall along Chelsea Avenue between Evergreen and Watkins streets, under Interstate 40 and on into Washington Park. And there will be a couple turns along the way, but as our own Bill Dries reports, those turns are nothing compared to the twists the long-planned Chelsea Greenline has taken. It’s been in the works for years, but a bridge collapse, stalled property talks and a funding issue have held things up. Memphis City Council member Michalyn Easter-Thomas held a public meeting about the project last night, and there’s finally some forward momentum.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit on Feb. 24. (Photo by Mark Weber, illustration by Nick Lingerfelt/The Daily Memphian)

Ask him anything: Memphis Mayor Paul Young hosted an AMA, short for Ask Me Anything, on Reddit, on Monday. Redditors asked things like, what is the city doing about all those fake drive-out tags? And what is the city doing to make the area around the airport look less trashy? Young had answers for those, and he addressed how he separates personality (Elon Musk) from project (xAI) when considering how the artificial-intelligence company can benefit the city. (Next up, we need a politician to do an AITA. IYKYK.)

QUOTED

“While he had a lot of people that disliked him, he had a few people that appreciated and respected his talents.”

— former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton 
Thaddeus Matthews, controversial local radio host and blogger, died on Monday at age 67, after a long heart-related illness. Shock jock Matthews was known for cursing, sexual innuendo, race-baiting and homophobic comments and was highly critical of local politicians, including his enemy-turned-friend Herenton.

THE NICE TO KNOW

Memphis guard Ja Morant mimed his famous “Call 12” after tying the game against the Phoenix Suns at the buzzer. (Brandon Dill/AP)

12 comes in clutch: Star point guard Ja Morant thrives under pressure, and that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 151-148 overtime victory against the Phoenix Suns at FedExForum. Morant was missing 3s early in the game, but he landed his first triple with under 10 seconds remaining and then buried a game-tying jumper from 18 feet away as the clock approached zero. So, yeah, the Griddy finally came out; it’s been awhile since we’ve seen Morant dance. Of course, the win was a group effort, and a miracle shot by Brandon Clarke helped with the overtime lead, too. In other Grizz news, you might have noticed that Morant has deactivated his X account once again. His reason? “I hate it there.” (You and me both, Ja.) 

From left: Robert Rios, Landry Duvall, Kim Collins and John Collins posed for a photo inside Idlewild Presbyterian Church. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

A birth, a death and a reunion: Landry Duvall, 34, was born in Memphis but given up for adoption to a family in McMinnville, Tennessee. And just three months later, his birth mother died in a car accident in Memphis. Duvall didn’t find out about his mother’s death until college though, when he was working on a master’s degree in church music and choral conducting. When it came time to find a job, he wound up in Memphis as music director at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. And that began his improbable reunion with his birth family. The Daily Memphian’s Geoff Calkins has that story.

The now-closed Highlander Restaurant & Pub, on the east side of Collierville’s Town Square, will be home to Maeve’s Tavern. (Abigail Warren/The Daily Memphian)

Sláinte, Collierville! A taste of Ireland is coming to Collierville Town Square. Brazen Restaurant Group, the company behind Bog & Barley and Celtic Crossing, is opening Maeve’s Tavern in the old Highlander space. The menu will feature classic Irish dishes with seasonal flair. As for the ambiance, think something between the classiness of Bog and the coziness of Celtic. Meanwhile, Germantown is getting a taste of Japan with Tennessee’s first Daiso store. Daiso sells Japanese-inspired home products, beauty products, snacks, stationery and cookware.

Crosstown leaders broke ground on Satellite Music Hall, a music venue coming to the Crosstown area, on Tuesday, Feb. 25. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Hey, Satellite: Crosstown Concourse and Live Nation’s new music venue will be called Satellite Music Hall. The name was revealed on Tuesday during a groundbreaking for the new 1,300-person capacity forum, which will host music and comedy shows, community gatherings and corporate meetings. As for the name, it’s a callback to the original name of Stax Records, but Todd Richardson, president and CEO of Crosstown Concourse, offered a space-related explanation.

Mark Eydelshteyn as Ivan (left) and Mikey Madison as Ani in the film “Anora.” (Courtesy Neon)

Herrington’s Oscar predictions: The Academy Awards are this Sunday, so here’s hoping you’ve got your movie-themed menu planned. (Isabella tortellini, anyone?) Our in-house movie buff Chris Herrington offers up his Oscar winner predictions (and he’s completely snubbed “Wicked,” y’all). But the movies don’t stop after awards season. In his Memphis Movies This Week column, Herrington also offers a peek at what’s dropping on screens this week, including a new Woody Harrelson film about deep-sea divers on a rescue mission.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT 

The Memphis Grizzlies rookies are killing it. In last night’s overtime win against the Phoenix Suns, rookie Jaylen Wells made some crucial late-game plays that helped seal the win. 

That’s it until we meet again tomorrow.

.....